10 years of "GreenTec Awards": N&M supports international environmental award with heart and mind
The glamorous gala held in the middle of May to present the tenth "GreenTec Awards" was a good occasion to take a look back at the numerous prize-winning projects and initiatives of the past decade. As the initiators of the "environmental Oscars" remarked: "We presented Elon Musk with an award when most people thought Tesla was some kind of formula. Or Car2Go – in those days most people had their doubts about the concept of car-sharing, but the development in the last few years speaks for itself." At this year's event at the "ewerk" in Berlin, the spotlight was on Mobisol, for example, in the field of "Sustainable Development": the Berlin-based company develops, sells and maintains solar energy systems for families and companies in rural areas far away from the power grid in the Sub-Sahara region, thus offering an affordable alternative to fossil fuels.
ini-hydroelectric power plants, emission-free flights, the Joulia shower drain or the “Paul” water-backpack, the recycling of plastic waste from oceans and waterways, drying washing with solar heat, a real-time carpooling network, balcony bees, organic straws, the Fairphone or house-building with waste paper – well-known corporations and bright idea developers came up with such pioneering solutions in terms of sustainability and earned an award as a result.
Neumann&Müller Veranstaltungstechnik once again lent its support at this year's "GreenTec Awards": on the one hand with technical support for the gala and, on the other hand, with evaluating the submissions as a member of the jury. As a sponsor of the award show, N&M demonstrated that even large-audience events can be staged more effectively in terms of sustainability. For example, the stage design featuring an 80-square-metre projection surface was realised by the GD-Group using recyclable corrugated cardboard. After the show, the cardboard construction was handed over to architecture students at the Technical University of Dresden to be reused.
On the light and sound side, 350 lights were used with energy-saving LED technology, whereby high-quality LED Fresnel lenses provided ideal photography lighting on the "Green Carpet". State-of-the-art laser projection technology was selected to create impressive, high-contrast video mapping, while d&b loudspeaker systems ensured efficiency on the sound side. As a result of these measures, around 70% less power was required compared to conventional technology.
To N&M, sustainability always means recruiting the crew from a local pool of employees. 40 technicians and creative staff were on location for four days, where their work included build-up, setting up the technical equipment, rehearsing the show and dismantling the equipment after the gala. "The collaboration between the client, the stage, lighting and graphic designers, the technical direction and those responsible for the technical planning before the event and for its implementation on location was extremely efficient, solution-oriented and based on mutual trust," says Timo Pforr, N&M's project manager.
The tenth anniversary is also a fitting occasion for N&M to look back on a history of successful collaboration: in 2011, the award ceremony was held at the Curio-Haus in Hamburg. Known back then as the "CleanTech Media Award", the ceremony took place in the Green Capital of the year – and, in its role as the venue's service partner, N&M ensured that the technical side of the event ran without a hitch. In the following year, the VKP agency organised the award show, and brought N&M on board as a technical consultant during the conceptual design and bid phase. For the following ceremonies in Munich and Berlin, N&M not only acted as a consultant but also implemented the technical concept.
At the same time, N&M also became involved as a sponsor of the "GreenTec Awards" and now helps to assess the submissions as a member of the jury. "I'm impressed by the large number of ideas and the potential they often possess," says N&M director Alex Ostermaier. "We are an interdisciplinary jury and evaluate submissions on points such as their contribution to preserving the environment, how innovative they are and, above all, we consider the aspect of practicality." He went on to say that some ideas appeared so simple that one could ask why no-one had thought of it before – especially when an idea has the potential to change one's mindset. "I also like the fact that the jury is composed of such different kinds of people: from the business world, from science, associations and the media – that means that really every facet of an idea is considered."
Photos: GreenTec Awards